stories of the cellar dweller

exhibits in february

2012-01-29T12:10:00.002-05:00

✭ 3rd Street Gallery - Community Exhibition

58 North 2nd Street Philadelphia, PA 19106-4505

(215)625-0993

Opens First Friday, Feb. 3rd 5-9 PM

There’s an Artist’s Reception

Sunday, Feb. 12th from 1-3 PM

✭ Jinxed - 5th Annual heART show

1050 North Hancock Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123

(at the Piazza)

Opens Saturday, Feb. 11 6-10 PM

They will also have a second reception on Sunday, 2/12 due to the Tattoo Convention in town the same weekend.

For Penn Treaty - Slingluff Gallery

2012-01-03T15:32:00.002-05:00

Opens Jan. 7th
6 - 9 pm
Slingluff Gallery
11 W. Girard Ave.
Philadelphia, PA

More Info Here

2 exhibits opening this week!

2011-12-12T18:25:00.002-05:00

i will have some work in both :)

Main Line Art Center , Play: Toying with Art opens Friday Dec. 16th from 6-8
My fello dumpster divers, Linda Lou Horn, Ann Keech, and Ellen Benson will have work there too! :D

Saturday, Dec. 17th, opens Jinxed's Art not iPods show, from 5-9PM

Jinxed is at the Piazza

1050 North Hancock Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123

All works in the show will be priced at $200 and UNDER.

"momentum"

2011-10-19T09:39:00.002-04:00

new work!
16" H x 49" W x 3" D
more details here:
"momentum"

"life sentence"

2011-10-09T09:18:00.002-04:00

made something new!

more details here:
MoloneyArt

"human plague"

2011-09-12T08:21:00.002-04:00

new piece! mixed media and found objects triptych
each box is W 3" x H 10½" x D 3"

upcoming show. first friday. sept. 2nd.

2011-08-24T08:47:00.001-04:00

Máscara (Mask)

i will have stuff here! :)

September 2 - 24, 2011
First Friday reception September 2 6-9 pm

...Projects Gallery is pleased to present Máscara (Mask), a juried exhibition exploring the contemporary use of the mask. More than 25 artists will be featured, with works in a variety of media, including drawing, mixed media, painting, photography, print, sculpture and video. Everyone wears a mask, whether literally or figurative. What are we trying to hide or reveal? Ancient man used the altered human form to represent the mysteries of his world. Shaman or medicine men wear body paint or crafted objects to transform themselves into forms from the spirit world. Halloween and Mardi Gras are two of today’s blends of religious and secular celebrations. What does the mask represent for modern man? We wear masks of all kinds – as part of religious rituals, in theater, in sports, in entertainment, in combat as well as in the face we present to others.

Juror, Henry Bermudez, has selected an eclectic group of artists to discuss this topic. Mr. Bermudez is a Venice Biennale Venezuelan artist who has shown throughout the world and has had more than 30 solo exhibitions and has participated in more than 75 group exhibitions. His works are included in several public and private collections, including National Museum of Catholic Art & History, New York; Museums of Contemporary Art, Caracas, Maracaibo, Merida, and Maracay, Venezuela; Modern Art Museum of Costa Rica; Puebla Cultural House, Puebla, Mexico; Museum of Art Ralli, Punta Del Este, Uruguay. He currently lives in Philadelphia and has an installation at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Máscara (Mask) will run September 2 - 24, 2011 with a First Friday reception September 2nd from 6-9. The reception is free and open to the public. Projects Gallery invites all attendees to wear their own masks to the reception. The gallery is open Thursday through Saturday noon to 7 p.m. For more information, please contact Projects Gallery at 267-303-9652 or info@projectsgallery.com.

m.i.a.

2011-07-12T09:18:00.003-04:00

hello my little bloglets :D

i have had an unbelievably busy few months.
it is unusual for me, because i am usually somewhat of a hermit, and it took some getting used to, but i have survived! ;)

in march, my arty friend from belfast came to visit for a couple of weeks! we did arty things, and went junque shopping, and went to places like eastern state penitentiary and the barnes foundation. it was really fun!

then i had the plush team retreat where a bunch of us plush teamers rented a big cabin in the mountains of virginia, and sewed and ate and laughed :D

after that, i went to ireland for a couple of weeks. my mother in law came back home with us for a few weeks too!

i also went to some concerts :D

(chris cornell. i LOVE him.)

and peter gabriel (amazing, as usual)

and after all that, i came home and made this:

it's called "forever more".

here are a couple of detail pics:

working on a few new things, looking to do a few new shows, and going to another concert! haha! soundgarden! i get to see chris cornell AGAIN! :D
cheers!

assemblages closing party

2011-03-29T08:25:00.003-04:00

hi!!!!
many things going on here, but i thought i should mention that the closing party for assemblages has changed... cause i know you want to go ;)

here's the info:

Saturday, April 2 · 12:00pm - 5:00pm
Location
Philadelphia Salvage, Mount Airy
542 Carpenter Lane
Philadelphia, PA
Created By
GEDŌ
More Info
Come out to Philadelphia Salvage for a last chance to see an eclectic exhibit featuring 14 artists that use reclaimed materials in their work! We will have a BBQ, beer, and a live ice sculpture demonstration outside.

Assemblage Exhibit

2011-02-19T17:21:00.001-05:00

I will be participating in GEDO’s Assemblage exhibit!
It opens March 4, 2011 from 5-9, where I’m told there will be music, food, beer, and art! Why wouldn’t you want to be there?

It will be open to the public through March by appointment. You can contact gedoproject@gmail.com
for appointments.

There will be a closing party on Saturday March 26th from 12-6PM with a live ice sculpture competition!

The Address is : Philadelphia Salvage
542 Carpenter Lane
Philadelphia, PA

It’s across from Weaver’s Way Food Co-op. (Mt. Airy)

Also, please be sure to check out my new website :D www.moloneyart.com

View Larger Map

new website!

2011-02-19T10:23:00.001-05:00

i made it all by myself ;)
www.moloneyart.com

howdy!

2011-02-07T20:04:00.002-05:00

hi!
the art openings were friday night.
i stopped in at highwire first. we got there early, but there were some people there. i'm not too sure what happened after that ;)

then off to 3rd street gallery.
busy busy!

i think there were 107 artists' work hanging. all philadelphia peeps :D

that's my painting "official biscuit business" in the middle :)

there will be an artists reception this sunday the 13th from 1-3 PM

in other news, i made a new tiny painting.
my lovely friend, cathy, sent me a ginormous box full of dolls one day :D
in the box was a howdy doody marionette.
i love him :D

i have him listed in my etsy shop

i've also listed some new things in my junque shop

ciao!
x

First Friday February!

2011-02-01T08:29:00.004-05:00

come out to first friday in philadelphia! :D
i have work in 2 galleries this month!
both openings are this friday feb. 4th from 5pm-9pm :D
but both shows will be up all month!
*crosses fingers for no more snow*

3rd street gallery (on 2nd street!)

View Larger Map

the LOVE show at highwire gallery

View Larger Map

love potion

2011-01-26T17:34:00.002-05:00

i just finished this!
"love potion"
it's about 8¾" square, and it's mixed media and found objects on wood.

i'm going to submit this and "all better" to a "love" show for february.
it's juried *crosses fingers*

more views:

k, bye!
x

love and biscuits

2011-01-22T11:53:00.002-05:00

hiya!
i'm just finished two new paintings :D
and i wanted to show em to ya...cause that's what i always do ;)

this one is called "all better". it's (of course) mixed media and found objects on wood, and it's approximately 12¾" square (including the frame) [that's about 32cm]

and some more views...

and this one is called "official biscuit business. (it's the same size as "all better"). because, you know, biscuits are very important!!! :D

here are some other views...

ok. that's all...i'm going back to work! ;)
ciao!!! x

two new tiny paintings

2011-01-19T22:02:00.002-05:00

i put em in my etsy shop

the tiniest one is "beeba". she's approximately 4" in diameter (10cm)

and here's "p.j.". he's a bit bigger...approximately 6.75" in diameter (17cm)

i have another painting finished too, but it isn't framed yet...

tomorrow! :D
(i think)
xo

phrenology and the way brains work

2011-01-11T19:47:00.002-05:00

hello bloglets! :D
it seems like i've been gone forever... with the holidays and then coming down with the flu :(
and i started this painting before even then, but i'm just finished it now :)

it's called "phrenology" and it's about 16.5" inches square.

what happened was...
for mother's day last year, my husband bought me this phrenology head for my studio:

i LOVE it! but it didn't seem to make sense to me. it's all organized and everything fits together, and i don't think that is the way my brains look.
so i made my own phrenology head that is probably more accurate for me.

here's some other views...

i'm happy that the holidays are over! i'm ready for this new year! bring it!!!! :D
cheers!!!!!

art opening

2010-12-03T11:27:00.002-05:00

i have 3 pieces at highwire gallery for their show "art for the urban collector"
it opens tonight!
:D

Highwire Gallery
2040 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA

5:00pm-9:00pm

the best birthday ever...and stuff...

2010-11-23T21:13:00.002-05:00

hello!
it's been a busy week!
friday was my birthday. i do not even want to think about how old i am...
but!

the husband took the day off and after weeks of telling me not to make plans for that day, i was on my way to the "mystery place".
he didn't tell me where we were going until we got there.

i was delighted to pull up in front of the barnes foundation! :D

if you don't know about the barnes foundation, you should!
it's a fabulous art collection, and a scandalous story!
it's going to be moved to the city soon, and it shouldn't be :(
so i have been wanting to go before it did.
it should be seen where it is, and how it is.
http://www.barnesfoundation.org

there is also a movie about it:

it's really good, actually. but also very sad :(

when we got home, the husband & the son had a present for me.

a new saw!!!

i'm back in bizness, lads!

we also went to my favourite mexican restaurant on the planet :)

it was a great day!
x

"mixed signals"

2010-11-11T16:52:00.002-05:00

finally!!! i had to use a regular ol' miter saw and some elbow, but i got it done!
this one is called "mixed signals"

i don't know about these photos, and if you can see or not, but that's a bee in the
middle.

the text is from an old spelling/reader book. one is about how busy and hard working a bee is, and the other one says they are dumb animals. which is it???
i'm going to vote for the busy/hardworking one, cause i happen to like bees.

i was also thinking about things other people might say to us.
some people seem to always point out negative things, others positive.
but when they are both coming at you, it can make you question yourself.

here's a couple more photos from different angles.

cheers!
x

$%#@&%

2010-11-08T22:13:00.000-05:00

stupid %$#&@# saw.

technical difficulties.

2010-11-03T21:34:00.004-04:00

hello!
i have some things i want to work on, but my saw is wonky :(
hopefully it will be fixed tomorrow.
or i will borrow a friend's.
everything will be a little bit smaller than planned though, since all the wood bits are now weirdly cut :P
i hope i have something new to show you soon :D
i spent all day scanning stuffs!
x

"better half"

2010-10-22T17:07:00.002-04:00

just finished this painting.
it is a present for my husband for our anniversary :)
it's mixed media and found objects on wood and it's about 11" square.
i hope he likes it :D

p.s. dear husband, if you are looking at this, you are gonna get a beatin'. now go away before you spoil the surprize.

:D

here is a detail pic

not anniversary

2010-10-21T16:21:00.001-04:00

today is october 21st!!!
and it is NOT my wedding anniversary.
but for 5 years or so, i thought it was, and i made my husband celebrate it on this
day...even though he insisted it was the wrong day.

i found out later (for sure) that it's not till next week :)

so happy 9th not-anniversary to my hunny :D
xo

handmade division talk about blog

2010-10-15T09:00:00.001-04:00

it's october 15th! that means it's the handmade division team's talk about blog.
every month we have a topic that we write about, then post links to the other team members' blogs who wrote too! (so be sure to see what they said in the links below!)

this month's topic is "Tell us about yourself - how did you get to where you are now with your skills?"

this seems like a simple question, but it isn't really easy to answer.
when i was a kid, i LOVED when we'd get a project in school to make a diorama.
i thought they were like little worlds that we could hold in our hands and disappear into.
i used to make little worlds outside too. with stones and moss and little acorns...whatever i could find.

i also really liked comic books.

when i was in art school, i kept leaning towards making collage type stuff. i found out about joseph cornell who made diorama sort of things with found objects. it seemed i had the same disease as him...finding stuff and feeling compelled to take it home and save it "for something".

after school, i realized that i had spent so much time with collage type stuff and i really wanted to focus on paint. so i spent a few years painting...portraits, still life...stuff like that.

i took a good few months off (maybe even a year) from painting, and really questioned what i was doing. it took me ages to finish a painting. i needed to reevaluate the way i was working.

it was then i decided to try to put everything together.
somebody (a teacher?) once said to me "notice what you notice". i always think of that.
why am i drawn to certain objects and things? what is the significance?

i started working in a way that i could put the objects in my work as symbols.
sometimes they aren't even symbols, but are purely decorative.
i started making little separate sections just for certain objects...to tell different parts of a story (like a comic book) and telling the stories in whatever medium felt comfortable or necessary to describe them.

so i have my diorama little worlds, i have a place for my found objects, and i am able to use painting and drawing too! it is much more natural for me to work this way. it makes me happy :)

here's the links to the other team members' posts!
please check them out too!

Andes Cruz
Tess Norberg
Jaime Pickering
Purified
Nancy Dale
Jewelry by Natsuko
Sand Fibers
Alice Istanbul
Thomasin Durgin
Beth Cyr
emily watson
Tosca Teran
Lisa Hopkins
Tamra Gentry
JJ Papke
Alisa Miller
Mary Spencer

"broken"

2010-09-30T07:38:00.003-04:00

it's finished! it took me a while, and kept me away from the computer ;)
but it's finished!!!

meet my new painting, "broken"
it's about 24.5" square.
mixed media and found objects on wood.

i've taken some detail shots because they are sort of hard to see in the main photo...

the drawing is raised so that depending on the light, there is a shadow of the image behind it.

thanks for looking! i hope you like it :)

hello!

2010-09-22T17:22:00.001-04:00

remember me?
i am still alive. i've just been working on something that is taking me ages.

i had a whole week where nothing at all went right, and i had to re-do a lot of things :(
but that seems to have cleared up and it's moving along.

i'm hoping i will be able to show you soon :)
cheers!!!
sus
x

"consumer"

2010-09-15T14:56:00.004-04:00

i was thinking about things.
things we buy that we think we need. they don't last. they aren't made well.
they are cheap, but not inexpensive.
mass produced.
they break, and we have to buy a new one.
things that we eat.
where is it coming from? what is *in* it?
mass produced.
processed.
i just read a BIG GIANT list about preservatives, food colorings and other stuff put in foods that were BANNED in europe but not in america. WHY?
why is it ok for us to eat it?
i also read about someone who was questioning what happened to "recalled" beef.
they found out that "it depends on why it was recalled"
some of it is cooked and sold in canned/frozen ready to eat food.
some of it is put in OUR KID'S school lunches!!!!
it's all about money, i suppose. and greed.
sickening, isn't it?

handmade division talk about blog

2010-09-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

it's the 15th of the month. that means it's the handmade division's talk about blog.
this month's topic is "where do you draw your inspirations for creating from?"
please check the links at the bottom to see what the other team members say!

Andes Cruz
Alice Istanbul
Rebekah Meddles (Lunasa Designs Jewelry)
Jewelry by Natsuko
nanotopia
Bella-Bijou Jewellery
Beth Cyr
ArtJewel Designs
Lisa Hopkins Design
Thomasin Durgin
Abhaya Fibers

just peekin my head in.

2010-09-09T23:15:00.002-04:00

built some new panels to paint on today....bring on the paint!

feeding the pig

2010-09-04T16:44:00.003-04:00

i found this photograph in a big huge old books/paper/posters type place that is way too expensive and i wish they weren't.
anyway.
i love the photo. it is really blurry and sort of just a bad photo in general, but i like it anyway.
on the back it says "they were feeding the pig you can't see the pig very well, but i think Larry looks just like you"
i thought it was so random.
i love random.

anyway...it turned into this painting.

i always feel bad for pigs. i happen to personally like them very much, and i hate to think that they will end up being somebody's dinner.

i painted the sides of this to hang as is, but i'd like a frame instead.
seems i need to go buy some framing wood, as i'm making stuff and have nothing to frame it with :P
i'm talking too much.
ciao!
x

updated: framed it! :D

"pudge"

2010-09-02T15:48:00.002-04:00

"pudge" is a tiny painting. it's not quite 4" in diameter.
it's a little portrait of a doll head i have, but...

i was a fat baby when i was born. thankfully, i didn't stay that way, but my grandfather dubbed me "pudge", and "pudge" he called me my whole life (until the end of his, anyway).
when i painted this, it just looked like a "pudge".
:)
x

save the girls

2010-08-31T17:09:00.008-04:00

this painting is about 16" square. i still have to build the frame, but i thought it would be easier to photograph without it, since my frames are sort of shadowboxy...and that makes shadows...

i found this old book a while back. i think it's from 1895.
it tells you all sorts of things...
like how to be a good wife, how to properly clean your teeth, or how to get rid of certain strange worms. mostly etiquette stuff...

i was reading the part about girls and how they should be taken care of so as not to turn out to be harlots. there's a few pages about boys too, but it seems the girls are higher maintenance...and if
you don't follow all of the rules, they will most definitely become a harlot. the book says "society forgives man, woman never". you better listen! ;)

that bit is actually titled "save the girls" and there is text from the book in the painting (if you look close...)

i don't know why i'm rambling on about this. i don't normally say much about the painting because i want people to make up their own story.
but that's that.
x
updated: framed!

duh!!!!

2010-08-28T16:55:00.002-04:00

i finally figured out that i could put a slide show of my work right there ----->>>>>
and i put my studio video up too, and my facebook page.
took me long enough, eh?
:)

and another new tiny painting....

2010-08-24T16:33:00.003-04:00

"seek"
acrylic, gold leaf paint, and tacks on wood.
5" in diameter

two new paintings

2010-08-24T10:15:00.003-04:00

"teef"
mixed media and found objects on wood
5" square

"wake up part 2"
mixed media on illustration board
10" square

the plush team has a book!

2010-07-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

Extra, Extra! Get your Plush Team Annual!

The Plush Team is ecstatic to present to you our first ever Team Annual, containing 120 pages of plushy goodness!

What is in store for you upon opening this marvelous book:

An opening by our team founder, Megan Green, describing how our team came to be.
An insightful, informative, and all-around fascinating account of the history of plush craft by our team co-founder Christina Ward.
42 two-page, full color features of our Plush Team members. Each includes photos of the artist's work, and text written by the artist explaining motivation, process, and inspiration.
A time line of Plush Team activities through over the years.Profile pages providing a comprehensive list of Plush Team artists, including artist head shots and Etsy shop addresses.
Photos of PT Stitchy, the team mascot, scattered throughout the book in his various incarnations as interpreted by our team members.

The book is full color, professionally printed, and soft cover. It measures 6.75"x6.75" (or 17 centimeters square). This is volume 1 of our Team Annual, featuring the artists from 2009. Our intent is to make this a yearly publication, updating it each year with our newest members and their incredible work.

Visit the Team Shop today for your copy!

talk about: collaborating

2010-07-15T12:00:00.006-04:00

it's time for the handmade division's talk about blog!
please be sure to click the links at the end to see what the other team members have to say about the topic :)

this months topic : " Are there specific artists you'd love to collaborate with? And what kinds of things would you like to create with them?"

i've been thinking about this all week, and i've come to the conclusion that i can't say i've ever really wanted to collaborate with somebody when it comes to art.
i think it has something to do with it being the only thing i have (somewhat) control of in my life ;)

my husband used to play in a band.
so many times, when we are talking about art, we compare it to playing music. it isn't the same in a lot of ways (like having to deal with other people) but in some ways it is (like it being something you need to do).
when we talk about that, i always think what a terrible band mate i would make.

i work better alone, when no one is watching, or expecting, or "suggesting" what i should be doing.
i had to share a studio in art school, and i could never work. i had to bring everything home every day.
i also really have trouble doing commissions. it's not that i don't want to make somebody what they want, i just want them to want something that i've already made. and i can't take the "not knowing for sure" if they are going to like it or not. way too much pressure ;)

BUT.
there are times where i want something to put in my art that i don't know how to do myself, and would love to be able to learn from somebody who could. lately, i've been wishing i knew how to weld. i know it wouldn't be a good idea because i know i would probably burn my brand new studio down, but i would still love to know how to do it. just for little bits and bobs to put in my art. i'd also like to know more about firing clay (also a fire hazard for me!) i feel as though if instead of making the things myself and using part of what someone else has made, it really wouldn't be mine...
is that selfish?

i have seen people who can collaborate and do it so well.

herakut are fantastic collaborators! (hera and akut...they put their names together) they must get on VERY well to be able to do what they do. i really couldn't imagine working that closely all the time with someone else. but it definitely works for them!

see what the other team members have to say (they must be more collaboration-related posts than mine! lol!)

Andes Cruz
Lisa Hopkins Design
ceeb wassermann aka howlindoggie
Rickson Jewellery
Purified Art

nanopod: Hybrid Studio

cassé

2010-06-28T16:09:00.004-04:00

cassé
Originally uploaded by susarto

here's the second one.
maybe i shoulda waited to blog and put them both up at once ;)

i've listed her too, where you can also see both views, here
ciao!
x

p.s. i forgot to say that you can click on the photos and they will take you to flickr. i have another view there as well.

dolly fleur

2010-06-28T13:01:00.002-04:00

dolly fleur
Originally uploaded by susarto

i finished this today and put it in my SusanMoloney etsy shop :)

i'll be putting the other dolly in there too, but i want to put a frame on her.
and i also have another one almost finished. waiting for some stuff to dry :)

so that's that.
i have nothing else.
;)

dolly

2010-06-21T22:49:00.001-04:00

dolly
Originally uploaded by susarto

i have some assemblage stuff in the works, but today i felt like painting and drawing a little...
this is a little one. 8" square.

i have two more dolly head portraits i worked on today, but they aren't finished yet.

that's all, folks ;)
x

what am i, anyway?

2010-06-15T07:56:00.003-04:00

Handmade Division Team's "talk about blog" time again :)
This means that the team is given a topic, and we each write what we think about it...
so after you read mine, please check out the other team's posts! (links below)

Junes's Topic: "Do you consider yourself only a XXX artist, or do you work in multi media application, and/or draw techniques from other fields to use in the on you're working in? "

I certainly work in "multi-media" but I don't call myself a "mixed media artist".
I usually just tell people I am a painter.
Then I have to explain to people that I am not a house painter, but a picture painter.

My husband argues with me and says I should just say "I'm an artist".

I have a lot of knowledge about different mediums from working in art supply stores all through college (and beyond) so I figure I should put that to use.
Besides, working that way comes very naturally to me (and I have an uncontrollable impulse to pick things up that I find interesting and stick em in my art).

I did, however, work for many years only with oil paint...and who knows...I might do that again someday...
I think I'd like to keep my label open so I can work however I want without expectations ;)

here are the links to the other team member's posts!
(team members live in all different time zones, so please be sure to check back if their post isn't up yet)

Andes Cruz
Thomasin Durgin
Jewelry by Natsuko
Lisa Hopkins Design
Maureen BZ (Cosmo's Moon)
Abhaya Fibers
ArtJewel Designs
Tamra Gentry
Bill Martin

opening night!

2010-06-05T10:47:00.005-04:00

the opening for "off the cuff" was last night.
it was a great turnout!
there was a steady stream of people coming in the whole night.
sometimes big bunches at once.

it was a really great night, and lots of my friends/family came out to see...
even fought through terrible traffic to get there! (thank you!!!)

here's a lil' video and some photos. i took the photos while we were setting up, so they are not great (i was kinda distracted) but you'll get the idea ;)

here's my work:

and eric frantz's work:

nicole tymowczak:

and melanie piekema:

the show runs through june 28th. if you're in philly, please stop by and check it out!
2040 Frankford Ave. Philadelphia, PA :)

just a reminder!

2010-05-23T09:41:00.001-04:00

Highwire Gallery
Off the Cuff
Opens June 4th!!!
2040 Frankford Ave.
Philadelphia, PA

my lovelies

2010-05-15T07:47:00.001-04:00

this post is for the handmade division team's "talk about blog" for may! (see the links at the end to follow the discussion)

this month's topic is "what item do you most treasure made by another artist"

i have a lot of things made by other artists, but i have to pick this one...

quite a few years back, i worked at an art supply shop/gallery.
i worked there for a pretty long time, and i got to know a lot of artists in my area.
there was a couple that used to come in often...jacques fabert and bonnie maclean.
i really got on well with them, and loved to talk about art and stuff with them when they came in. (i would tell people that they were my "art parents" ;) )

somehow, bonnie and i decided that i would sit for her. she would paint me for however many sessions, in return for one of her paintings.

she is an amazing painter.

bonnie maclean used to be married to bill graham, the manager for the fillmore in california.
she was one of the "poster makers" back then. she's sort of a big deal :)

here's one of her posters...

i would go to bonnie and jacques' studio on a regular basis...
she would paint me, and we would chat.
we became pretty close.
i would sometimes bring cakes or something over and we'd have coffee and cake with jacques (who loves his sweets!)

here's one of jacques' paintings...

he's an amazing painter too!

i learned so much from going there,
and they are so inspiring and encouraging!

anyway, time went on, and i sort of stopped sitting for bonnie.
she had moved on to some interior type of paintings and she didn't need me there...

she told me to choose a painting of hers that i wanted.

this wasn't so easy.

i wasn't really sure that i would want a painting of myself....
but in the end, i decided to pick my favorite one that she did of me.
i remember that day, and sitting and chatting with her...
and she had jimi hendrix or something on the stereo, rockin out while she painted ;)

so, this one was my choice. i have it hanging in my living room, and every day i look at it and think how lucky i am to have it! and how lucky i am to have bonnie and jacques for friends! and how glad that i am that i picked that one...
just to remind me of those times.

i don't get to see bonnie and jacques as much as i would like now, but i do make a point to go and see them when i can. they mean a whole lot to me. i hope they know that.

be sure to click on the links below to follow the other team members' posts on this topic!
Andes Cruz
Jewelry by Natsuko
Tosca
WATTO
Ceeb Wassermann
Beth Cyr
Rickson
Tamra Gentry
Purified Art
SandFibers
ArtJewel Designs
kerin rose
Abhaya Fibers

workin!

2010-05-05T13:28:00.002-04:00

now that i have the studio all set up, i can get to work on something new for the show at highwire gallery in june!
i made this especially for kit, so she can watch from a perch in my corner...

hi kit!

drumroll please.....

2010-05-03T23:41:00.001-04:00

ta-daaaaaa!!!!!
the studio is finished!!! :D

shelves n' stuff

2010-04-25T22:36:00.001-04:00

i'm dying to show off the whole room, but until the little bits and bobs at the end are done, i will have to settle for the table putting togethers.

the shelves and stuff were built yesterday, and i have everywhere that needs to be painted painted.

if you click the photo, there are notes to explain stuff.

the unpainted bits will be edged with nicer wood and stained. the storage is fantastic :D
and i could sleep on top of it if i wanted to ;)

newses!

2010-04-24T10:22:00.002-04:00

the work table should be finished today! (being built, anyway)
i couldn't wait and started priming, but there will be shelves inside...

it's a HUGE table! i love it! :D

also, i have some gallery news!
i will be participating in this show at highwire gallery in june :D
i'm really excited about it!
i will be showing my entire "survival (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger)" series there along with (hopefully) some new pieces!

check highwire's website for any other info.
see you later with a finished studio, perhaps? :D

oh, and here's a lil' pic of the pooch in his new studio bed. just cause it's cute :)

copycats

2010-04-15T09:00:00.001-04:00

i recently joined an etsy team called the snow leopard network.
the quality of the work on that team is fantastic!

have a gawk:
snow leopard network
i am honored that i was invited to be a part of it.

anyway, once a month, this team has a talk about blog. people on the team write on a chosen topic and list the links of the others' blogs too. i think that's called a blog carnival. (i'm learning?!)
it's really interesting to hear what everybody has to say.

this is my first attempt...

and it's about copying!
(just the word copying gets my undies in a twist.)

besides being a member of the snow leopard network, i've been on etsy's plush team for a few years,
since it started, really.
copying has happened to me, and MANY of the other plush makers.
we discuss the problems surrounding this often!
surfing around the innerwebs, you hear about it DAILY!!!
it is heartbreaking.

i have been to many a craft show where you hear someone say "i could make that".
you probably have heard that too.
it takes all that i have in me not to punch them.

what is really baffling is how many people don't understand that it's NOT OK!!!!!

artists and craftspeople work hard to come up with original ideas, learn how to make it work, and work their butts off to get it out in the world....usually with the intention of making a living off of what they are good at.

when someone comes along and just takes this end result...well...it's stealing.

you know when you watch a dvd, and it says all that stuff about not using anything in it for personal or monetary reasons, or you will be fined eight gazillion dollars?
well, it's the same thing.
but there are people who use the stuff anyway :(
there's always gotta be "those people".

i wish i could say that everyone who made stuff was creative and imaginative and put their heart into what they did, but that wouldn't be true.
some people know how to make stuff, but they can't come up with ideas, so they just take somebody else's.

and the worst of these people.
the worst of them ALL!!!!
are the ones who will deny they copied and refuse to stop selling the idea that rightfully belongs to somebody else.
they will actually FIGHT over it!

do they think no one will notice???

these people do not understand how absolutely horrible it feels for the original artist because they don't know what it's like to have created something original.
they don't know because they can't do it...
...or they are too lazy to try.

there are so many books out in the world to tell you how to make things!
there are tutorials all over youtube.
there are many workshops and classes you can take.

but to take an artists work and try to pull it off as your own is wrong and immoral.
if there are still people in the world who truly don't realize this, then i think it's our responsibility, as artists, to spread the word.

which is why i agreed to write about this topic.

copiers!!! listen up!!!
it is hard enough to get by as an artist. please stick to your day jobs and leave our territories alone!
you will never be consistent enough with your work if you are only following someone else's finished product. you will always fail taking the shortcut.
it takes time! it takes years and years to develop an art!!!! it takes experiences, it takes patience, it takes failures and successes. it takes blood, shit and tears! it needs a heart and a soul.
don't try take that away from an artist and their work.
you can't.
and your copy will be absolutely lifeless if you try.
i can promise you that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

please see what the other snow leopard peeps think about all this...

ArtJewel designs
Andes Cruz
Jewelry by Natsuko
Beth Cyr
Tosca Teran
Tamra Gentry
alisa miller
Mary Spencer
Thomasin Durgin
rosyrevolver

my heroes

2010-04-08T14:53:00.002-04:00

hero |ˈhi(ə)rō|
noun ( pl. -roes)
a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities : a war hero.

• the chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.

• (in mythology and folklore) a person of superhuman qualities and often semidivine origin, in particular one of those whose exploits and dealings with the gods were the subject of ancient Greek myths and legends.

• (also hero sandwich) another term for submarine sandwich .

these two guys are my heroes.

(they are not any kind of sandwich.)

that is our friend, jon on the left, and my husband, pat, on the right.

they worked their arses off for me to build this studio.
for something that started off as a small job, it turned into a HUGE project.
the result is something i've always dreamed of having, but never thought i would!
i am forever grateful and indebted to these two guys.

so, this is a public THANK YOU! from the bottom of my heart!
i'm a happy girl! :D

p.s. we make a GREAT team! xo

water!

2010-04-06T16:27:00.002-04:00

i finally got my sink installed! and it works!!!! :D
i was a little skeptical about this sink at first...
i mean, i love the sink, but it's meant to be a bathroom sink on a vanity.
and i thought it would be kinda cool to use it like a vessel sink only it's really rectanglish i had to order the faucet elsewhere, so i wasn't able to see what it would be like until i got it here.

it's definitely different.

i was afraid that the faucet would pour the water right over the sink and onto me!
but it doesn't. it works just fine! and it is nice and high for washing brushes and stuff.

i sorta hate that the drain thing is silver, but what can i do? :P

the floor is almost finished too! i need one more coat of varnish on the last bit and it's done! i'm just a little worried that since i had to do the floor in so many parts that it will be all different in spots. surely it will, but hopefully the worktable will distract from that...

anyway,
water!
yay!

this week...

2010-04-04T23:44:00.002-04:00

we built a sewing table that's just the right size :)

and we hung paintings up (with a few extra holes in the wall, but i can fix those :/ )

tomorrow is supposed to be sink installation day! :D

and today my lovely neighbors (who give me the teeth moulds)
were throwing away an old door. they gave it to me to make the lil' closet door with, or the work table.

not a whole lot left to do!

can't wait to show ya! :D

closer and closer

2010-04-01T16:52:00.003-04:00

just thought i'd fill ya in so you didn't forget i was still here ;)

we are SO CLOSE!!!! now if i could only get these fellas in here to install the sink and a couple of lil' things...
i'll be able to give you the grand tour! :D

i just got all my electrical outlets put in...the rest of them...today.
my sink is here and the faucet arrived, we just don't have pipes.
and guess what...
i have a lil' fridge in the closet! lol!

i have cable t.v. and my itunes hooked up to my wall speakers...only one side is working for some reason...we have to figure that out yet.

i think i will make a video at the end :)

just a peek

2010-03-28T21:45:00.001-04:00

i wasn't going to show anymore till it was done, but i can't help it...
we got a sink to put here and this isn't finished being stained/varnished...but almost!
meep!

anxious

2010-03-19T07:29:00.003-04:00

ugh! i can't wait to finally be done and moved in!!!!

i was debating whether or not to show photos of what's happening, but i think i will hold off to make it a surprize ;)

i've started painting the other half of the floor....
the base cabinets are here and all of the cubbies and shelves are stained and varnished...

we put the extra drywall pieces up in the closets to make it look a little neater...

got more track lights put up!

we need to install the base cabinets, the sink, and build worktops and a big work table...but when the floor is finished, i can start moving stuff in.

yesterday was 2 months ago that we started tearing apart the old studio!
it's come a long way since then!

nearly there...
i have to keep telling myself to be patient.

more stuffs!

2010-03-10T19:24:00.003-05:00

i've been so busy!
and so have the boys!
they built me a radiator cover :)
i still have to finish staining and varnishing it, but i think it's supercool :D
(i should have taken that little wood strip off the top before i took the photo.)

they built that yesterday while i was cooking dinner.
they were done before me!

today, more cubbies were made! they are underneath the first cool cubbie thing. we're not sure yet what we are going to put on top, so we just put the closet door there to get an idea of what it will be like.

still needs stain, and they say i will have drawers at the smaller top of either side, and maybe one long drawer in the middle. :D

lots more staining for me!

i hope i will have some brain cells left after this so i can actually use the space :D

changed.

2010-03-08T14:14:00.002-05:00

i didn't like em.
i tried to, but it was too much.
too frilly and too much of it.
i kept some of it, and i like it a little better.
it's gonna stay this way for a while. (for now...)

here's a detail of the steps, but i can't seem to get the color right on the computer.
it is darker and more greyish brown in person.
not green. i think it looks green in the photos.
meh.

put the first coat of stain on the rest of the wood, and touched up all the stuff the boys did yesterday....

now i'm not sure what to do with myself while everything is drying...
must. keep. moving.

stairs

2010-03-08T00:17:00.003-05:00

sometimes things don't turn out like they are in your head.
but that's ok sometimes too.

at first, i had way too much going on here. i might still...but i sort of diffused it a little...
i used metallic paint so depending on where you are standing, you see different parts.
not what i expected, but i guess it's ok...

the new stairs:

the old stairs...(again. just to compare...)

i want to look at the new ones again tomorrow and see how i feel about them.
then varnish....
again.

the boys put one of the closet doors on, but i still have to touch up the paint and the stain...and also put the windowsill on the second window. (also needs to be touched up...)
they bought more wood that i get to stain and varnish (lucky me!) because they used up some of the baseboard wood for the closet.

after staining, i can finish the other half of the floor :D

hopefully, i'll be back tomorrow with more progress.
thanks for lookin and following along with this HUGE project.
xo

stencils? stamps? something?

2010-03-05T14:08:00.002-05:00

so that half of the floor is done. varnish and all. i can't wait to put my furniture there!

i painted the steps a dark brownish greyish color.
i am thinking it needs something on 'em. so i have been investigating stencils and stamps and whatever else i can stick on there to add a little something to em.
this is what they looked like before:

so now that they are just one color, it looks blah :P

i'm heading to the shop later to see what i can find.
i have considered using lace as a stencil and those baroquey floraly stamps...you know what i mean?
i think i like this one...

we'll see...

i might pick up some copper paint, and i still have "the rust" ;)

happy half!

2010-03-03T21:56:00.001-05:00

half my studio is nearly done!!!!
just a door for the little closet, and one more coat of varnish on the floor!
i'll be moving some furniture in a little over a week :D

i did it.

2010-03-01T18:23:00.002-05:00

i went and got the rust paint :P
i still have a few squares to go. just takin a break...and this is only HALF the floor, mind you! eep!!!

the rust:

NOT the rust:

i am really glad i did it. it does look much better, doesn't it?

while i was working away, the husband came home and put up some track lights for when i hang up some art :D

pay no attention to that little closet. i'm still waiting on a door...

still don't have closet doors on the other side either. i'm being told wednesday...i hope!!!! :D

thanks for all of you who gave me rust advice! you are so good. you really helped!!!
xo

floor situation

2010-03-01T00:26:00.002-05:00

so.
hello.
i spent the day running around like a maniac, and arrived back home about 7:30pm.
i had this brilliant idea that i'd just go down and tape the floor out...even though i was supposed to wait till tomorrow (to give the base coat more time to dry).

tape the floor out.
yep.
that was the plan...

so i taped it this way...

then that way...

then i had another brilliant idea that i would start painting it.
i really think those varnish and stain fumes did something to my head...

so i started painting it...
(i didn't finish the whole floor..just a few rows...)

(please pretend that my baseboards are there. a little wider than the moulding around the door...same color though)

so now i have a dilemma.
i really think just a small bit of a rust-color here and there on the floor would make it look SO much better...
and this is where i need your help, please, because like i said, i believe there is something wrong with my brain...

here are my thoughts and in no particular order.

•it would look SO much better with a lil' rust-color
•BUT it's a BASEMENT floor.
•AND a STUDIO floor, even.
•so it is going to get destroyed here and there
•and there will be furniture almost everywhere (that will be covering the floor)
•and i'm mainly the only person who is going to be in this room ever.
•and it's going to make the floor take a lot longer to finish than it already will without the rust-color
•so should i bother?

if i were in my right mind, i would probably say no...
no, susan. don't bother. get your studio done and get back to work! nobody is ever going to notice the stupid rust color anyway...

but my totally sleep deprived, fume distorted brain says: SUSAN! get up early and run to home depot and get that rust color first thing! just do it! why not?

please help me and tell me that i don't need the rust color...even if you don't really mean it.
no.
please be totally honest and tell me what you really think.
i can take it.
really, i can...

x

slowly but surely...

2010-02-26T20:58:00.002-05:00

i haven't been posting the last couple of days cause there is nothing exciting to really say. and no exciting pics to show you :(
but i have been organizing and moving things around SOME MORE. and getting rid of stuff...donate donate donate!

i did put stuff in my cubbies but i won't show you till later when i'm finished moving stuff around :P

and i painted that same part of the floor. second coat. on monday i'll tape it out and faux finish it. after varnishing that, i have to wait at least a week to put furniture on it. then i can do the other side :(
it's much easier to paint floors when there is nothing ON the floor!

oh, and i patched up holes with concrete mix today.
that stuff is deadly. and you have to work really REALLY fast!

we have been getting a bit of water in one spot of the basement and i'm hoping this will fix it!

only when it rains LOADS though. like it just did :P

i'm feeling a little bit more organized though. at least i know what's what and what is going where...

both of the galleries i had paintings in end their shows this weekend so i'll be running around picking stuff up and maybe having lunch at fadó again ;)

cheers!

cubbies!!!!

2010-02-22T21:16:00.000-05:00

they're up!
and DONE!
:D

presses and pulls (and stain stain and more stain...)

2010-02-21T21:57:00.003-05:00

presses. that's what the irish folk call em. i don't know why cause they really don't press anything, but it is shorter to say than cabinet or cupboard :P

anyway, i have some! :D

you can't tell in the pics, but i bought those pulls. they are dark brown (not black) and have little bits of copper showing thru.
i got a doorknob for my door like that too.
matches the stain kinda sorta...

my husband is putting the doorknob on right now! :D

we didn't pick up the bottom presses yet. and the sink. but hopefully that will happen soon...

i was on staining duty again.
i woke up at 5am to get another coat of stain on the big cubbie thing from yesterday. i was hoping to get to varnish it too so they could hang them.
but...everything takes way longer than you think it will.

so i varnished the thing after going back to sleep for a few more hours ;)

this morning, my kidlet and i stained these shelves:

these were ikea shelves that i recently cut down. they were really tall. they are much easier to deal with at this height.

even shorter, it was a pain in the arse to stain. and now that i look at the photograph, all those little holes bug me. i guess a little brush might get in there...
i guess i'll stain the other ones tomorrow.

the husband finished while i was typing this, so here's the new doorknob! :D

still hard to tell the color, but you get the idea..
it looks better, dontcha think?

anyway.
wrecked tired...
hope i am more organized tomorrow...

helloooo!!!!

2010-02-20T22:02:00.002-05:00

i am still alive!

i have been a little grumpy lately, cause i have nothing i can do.
i can't work cause my studio is all wrapped up in plastic.
and i haven't had use of my car for a while (troubles)
so i have been sorta stuck here.
useless.

BUT!!!!

today!

we got to work.
the boys went out this morning and bought lots of wood.
they built this:

they took it down again so i could stain it.
this is the first coat. so it still needs another coat of stain and 2 coats of varnish...

i think it's fantastic!!! there will be a workbench under it for woodworking stuffs (so i had better get better at it!)

they also put my door to the laundry room on:

that i had to paint. that doorknob (i hope) is only temporary. i want to get one of those dark brown-bronzey ones...

i also got a nice windowsill....eventually we will get new windows there, so the wood will go all the way back to the window, but there is no sense in doing that now with those stupid old windows...

this is the fun stuff! it's so exciting to see it all coming together.
tomorrow, we are supposed to pick up cupboards and i'll be getting a sink! :D
i am a happy painter-girl :D
x

happy valentines day :)

2010-02-14T22:13:00.002-05:00

what a great day!!!!

i started my morning by trying to finish staining all the wood for the baseboards and
trim for the studio.

then off to the plastic club for the opening of their "small worlds" show.
i submitted 2 pieces. the opening was supposed to be last weekend, but was postponed because of all the snow :/

i'll just show you some pics cause, well, they say it better...

after the opening, we went over to fadó, which is an irish restaurant at the corner of 15th and locust in philadelphia...

we had an amazing meal, and a few cocktails ;)

perfect.

tomorrow it's back to work with a big tin full of polyurethane :P
i hope i have some new studio progress pics to show you soon!
ciao!

concrete basement floor

2010-02-12T13:00:00.008-05:00

a few years ago (maybe many) when we bought this house, there were those green (probably asbestos) tiles (with the little colored chips)
on the basement floor. my husband and my neighbor started chipping them up when the neighbor suddenly suggested that they may be asbestos.
so they stopped.

i was working down there for a while with this half chipped off floor, and IF it WAS asbestos, i was thinking...
"this is no good, i'm working down here kicking all this stuff around..."
and we couldn't be sure if it was anyway, unless we paid some ridiculous amount of money to have it tested...
so either way, the damage was done and i decided to tear them all out and be done with them forever.
(i know. i could die. but i will someday anyway...)

that was terrible.
i wish they hadn't started chipping away so that we could have just put a new floor on top...but what can you do?

anyway, underneath those disgusting tiles was even more disgusting goop that held the tiles on there forever and ever.

i had to use adhesive remover and scrape and scrape.

then i primed the floor and painted it to make it look like tiles...

this is when it was new (and i actually had some room in there)

we have been working on the floor and banging it up, but it still held up pretty good!

i've been trying to read up and find out if i needed to prime it again, and i asked the "all knowledgeable home depot fella" what he thought...
i eventually decided to just paint a base color on top of what was there. (after sanding and sweeping and mopping of course)

you can't really tell, but it's a "silver grey". i can only do half the room at a time because of all of the stuff. (i think i said that before?)

then i'll tape it out and faux finish it.

i'm going to use a dark brownish grey on top and hopefully they will sorta look like tiles.

faux finishing really helps hide a lot of imperfections and little ews and whosiwhatsits that happen to floors...

this is going to take forever doing half at a time because after each coat, you have to wait DAYS before you can go down there again.
maybe i should clean up the rest of my house that is riddled with spackle dust and snow boots :P

everything is white.

2010-02-11T00:15:00.002-05:00

i have been painting the studio.
white.
because i want it to be nice and bright and not so basementy.

it has been snowing and snowing.
and everything outside is white too.

(everything is also blurry. i just want to get a shower and go to bed...)

i think tonight i will dream about colors.

i am finished painting the walls, though i might have to put a little more paint on the ceiling at the end cause i didn't have enough for 2 coats.
but it still looks pretty good...

tomorrow i will move EVERYTHING to the front of the basement and start on the floor...
but it will not be easy because i have so much stuff in there still...
the last time i painted the floor, it was summer, and i put everything outside.
i can't do that in this snow...

i'm really starting to get buggy about not painting anything, so we better move along and get this done...

and did i mention i have lights?

lookit em all!!!! :D

(my apologies if this blog post is incoherent. i am not even going to proofread it...i have got to go away. ciao. xo)

...and now a break from our regularly scheduled program

2010-02-05T21:21:00.002-05:00

all day i was wondering...
are they going to cancel the opening because of the snow?
and until i was about to walk out the door, i still wasn't sure if we were going to go or not.

but we did.
and i'm glad we made it down there :)
we beat the storm too! it didn't start sticking to the ground until after we got home.

my painting "capture" was selected to be in highwire gallery's "devotion" show.

highwire gallery is in philadelphia on frankford avenue.
the show will be up until the end of february.

here's some photos from tonight...

in other news, i have the first coat of paint on the walls of the studio!!!! :D

soon comes the fun part...

2010-02-04T21:51:00.002-05:00

i have not posted for a couple of days cause i've been working!!!
priming the walls, really...
i am the painting department, so now it'll be mostly me working and the boys can relax a little? maybe.

if you click on this pic, it will take you to my flickr photo page (i hope) where i put notes all over the place so you can see what's going on...

i'm getting so excited because all the fun stuff is coming soon!!!!
tomorrow i will be doing some final sanding on the bulk of the room and painting it. then i have to move all of my stuff to the painted end so we can work on the other side.
luckily, the unfinished side is much smaller than the almost finished side :D

i have an art opening tomorrow night, but they are calling for 6-12 inches of snow!
which is a total bummer, but we are going to have to wait till the afternoon to see what happens.

it may not get too bad till later on at night.

stupid snow.

the snow should stop sometime on saturday though, so hopefully there will be no problem with going to the OTHER opening on sunday.

hopefully.

busy.

2010-02-03T08:46:00.002-05:00

this has been a really busy week.
besides schlepping art to galleries, and dog to vets, and domestic duties, the studio is still being worked on...

it doesn't look too much different from the last pics because it's mainly just spackling.
the lights, however, the new ones, have been put in :)
now we just need switches and we're sunshine!

i'll be sanding today, because i was told that i might be able to start priming the walls for paint on thursday.

that would be great!

i have paintings in two galleries that open this weekend, so it will be a little crazy around here, working on the studio between.

friday opens highwire gallery's "devotion" show. they are showing my painting "capture".

and sunday, the plastic club has my "mine" and "the letter".

i hope there will be no more snow for the weekend.
*crosses fingers*

newses

2010-01-30T20:11:00.003-05:00

the bad news first.
the lights we got are not bright enough :(
my husband had put 6 or 7 of the 13 in and it was just too dark.

but he brought the ones he didn't put up back and exchanged them for others that
should be better. but now he has to put THOSE in and exchange the others.

today i went to the city to drop off paintings for 2 galleries.
when i came back, there was good news...

closets!!!

there is one on either side (was hard to get a good photo...).
one hides the electrical panel and the other hides the water pipes.
they are perfect because i will be able to store my fabric bins in there!!!

there will be a worktop connecting the two pretty soon :)

i was joking with them saying i wanted a toilet in there so i would never have
to go upstairs ;)

more spackling.
they say i will be able to paint the primer on by tuesday! :D

next weekend there will be two art openings. i am definitely showing 2 pieces in the one, and the other, i will find out tomorrow if they are accepted.
*crosses fingers*

13 is a lucky number

2010-01-29T14:55:00.002-05:00

13 of these are going to be in my ceiling.

i counted them.

13!!!!!

i am going to be able to SEE!!!!!

ceiling!

2010-01-28T12:38:00.002-05:00

the ceiling is drywalled! the whole thing :D

our friend, jon, who has been working so hard for us, is not coming here tonight, but i am pretty sure my husband (whether he likes it or not) will be doing some electrical work, like maybe putting the lights in? or the inthewall speakers that he got for me?
i hope he does anyway. it'd be a good time to do it...

the last of the walls that need drywall are the parts that started this whole project in the first place! there was no drywall there EVER, and i had fabric stapled up to the walls to hide it. i asked jon if he'd drywall that area and put up some shelves for me...
i think it has evolved ;)

you see that tall light in the photo? that's jon's. it is our only source of light while we are working until the lights go in.

there was yet another mishap yesterday (caused by me, of course) when i tried to put the light on. see, the thing with that light is...you have to slide the whole light bulb part UP. it's in that big clear tube. i've watched jon do it and he slams that sucker up and down.

there's a little lever that you have to pull out in order to slide it. i pulled the lever out, holding the top little knob eversocarefully with the other hand, and guess what?
the whole top broke off!
how can he slam it and not break it, but i touch it and whammo!?
i felt so bad all day.
he wasn't mad at me though...

i have everything wrapped in plastic and ready for the spackle dust that will ensue any day now...
it looks a lot like that scene in E.T. when they come in and try to take him away...

i've been on the computer for most of the day...looking for ideas on how i want to paint the floor. it took me forever to paint those tiles on there and i sort of hate the idea of having to paint over it again. especially because i will have to do it in sections with all of the stuff i have still in there!

hopefully there will be lights for next time so the photos aren't so dark.
till then...
ciao!

the insulationator

2010-01-27T12:33:00.003-05:00

now, you may think i look quite ridiculous, but i am indeed protected from the deadly insulation fiberglass bits that make people very itchy.

this is a tested insulationator suit, and it works very well.

what you need for full protection is:

1. long underwear. this is necessary for double protective leg coating. besides, it's flippin' january.

2. jeans. these are to cover said long underwear and are not as absorbent for the fiberglass bits.

3. long sleeved t-shirt

4. hoodie. and this is important...WITH the string intact. you will need the string to tighten the hood as snug as possible around your chin.

5. bandana of your color choice.

6. safety goggles. unfortunately, after great physical activity (which means if you are height-challenged and are installing insulation in a ceiling), you will become quite warm in your insulation suit, and your goggles will fog up. you may want to take a break when this happens. perhaps out of doors where you can breathe fresh air.

7. rubber gloves (preferably purple)

8. face mask. please note that these type of face masks are not made with bumpy nosed individuals in mind, and the mask will hurt after long periods of time. it will also leave a giant imprint upon your bump.

i finished putting the insulation up. drywall completion is due this evening...

and then there was trouble...

2010-01-25T20:20:00.003-05:00

maybe i shouldn't be left alone...
unsupervised...

i was supposed to go down and move my stuff to the already drywalled area so they could drywall the rest of the room.

20 minutes in, all of the power in my house went out, so i worked in the (almost) dark till it came back on an hour later.

the power came on (and i swear, it was the storm and not anything i did to any outlets!)
and water started to seep in from our neighbors side (we are in a semi-attached house or a twin, like they call em here)
i had to move a bunch of canvases and stuff in a big hurry before they got wet :(
it normally doesn't happen unless it REALLY REALLY rains a whole big LOT!
but it really sucks when it does.
we have a french drain and a sumpump (is it a sump pump? or a sumpump?)
on the other side, but i have no control over what happens on the neighbor's side :/

THEN i started to smell some sort of gas. it was a propane torch that the boys were using for the pipes they had to move in the ceiling. the top musta got jostled. i wonder how long i was breathing that in?

what else?
OH! and there was something dripping from our boiler oil heat thing... i had to call the husband to come home from work and check it out!!!

and i pinched the bejeezus outta my finger with these death pliers my husband owns.

but i cut down two of my big shelving thingies so they aren't so tall. i think it makes it look less huge and looming...they both fit on the smallest of the new walls, and i think i will make them sort of my collections area ala mutter museum style.

:D

maybe i'll make the whole basement mutter themed :D
haha!

i still have moving to do, but i think i still have all day tomorrow. phew.

i'm not very good at this...

2010-01-24T22:47:00.004-05:00

but i've keep being asked where i'm going to put what...
i measured and stuff, and i made this quicky (bad) pretend studio.
whatcha think? is there a better way???

please ignore the misshapen closets and things...you get the idea ;)
and if you can't get the entire image on your screen, you can click the photo. it will take you to my flickr. :)

REAL walls

2010-01-24T15:04:00.002-05:00

it's getting there!!!!

where the yellow wires are sticking out, i'm going to have recessed lights :D lots and lots of lights!!!!

spackling. so messy...

walls!

2010-01-23T09:16:00.002-05:00

so excited! they started building the new walls last night! a late start, but they are starting early this morning. they are already down there sawing and stuff :D

i'll have quite a bit more room since the one wall was moved back a few feet :D
i will have to repaint the floors...but that's ok :)

and on the 3rd day, there were wires...

2010-01-21T21:51:00.002-05:00

or is it the 4th day? nothing special happened to the studio yesterday, but i did work on my website which i think is almost ready to launch, as soon as i find a good parking space...

so whatever day it is...the wires are in and tidied! and there are metal boxes and other things that i have no understanding of...

but what i DO know is that it means i will have LIGHTS!!!

...AND it means GOODBYE fluorescent lights!!! i will not miss you!

and it also means that we are all ready for the drywall tomorrow!!!! wheeee!!!! :D
see you tomorrow with my new walls! x

studio. day 2. ruh-roh!

2010-01-19T13:16:00.002-05:00

i thought i'd surprize my husband today and tear down all of the paneling from the studio so he would only have to worry about the electrical stuff and whatever it is that they are going to do...but you know...so they can GET STARTED!!!

this is the ugly paneling (that i had painted) that i mentioned in the last post...

you see those little window things? they were for projectors i think. the old fella that lived here before us had it all set up down there like a big multi-media room....only it was all done in the 70's. all brown wood paneling...
he had this little wall thing built that you could walk behind because it held a t.v. and a stereo and stuff, and i think he had a big screen you could pull down to watch movies from the projectors (dirty movies, from what my neighbor tells me ;) )

i think i have a polaroid i took of it when we moved in. i will try to find it...

so this is what it looks like now...

and the side wall...

so i was at the last piece of panel. and, you know, i had to unscrew all of the electrical outlet plates and fiddle with the thing so it would go through the paneling to get the paneling off.

that last piece was trouble because it was/is behind the radiator.
so i nearly had it, when all of the sudden... POP!!!! sparks came out of the outlet and now everything is dark! :O

(the culprit)

i rang my husband (mr. electrician) who was less than happy with me for trying to do this all myself (which i should have known, but i am perfectly able to do things myself...well, almost.) and warned that i should now leave that alone and wait for him to do it.

my internet was actually what was plugged into that outlet before so i had to get a big extension cord and run it all the way upstairs to plug it in ;)

i did try to organize all of the stuff better and put plastic sheeting up...

(see how it's dark down there now? hehe)

now i s'pose i should take all of that old paneling out and get it ready for the bin.

wish me luck for husband arrival time and that i don't get in too much trouble ;)

su-su-studio

2010-01-18T19:52:00.002-05:00

well, here goes.

the studio tearing apart has begun. i was instructed to move everything i could along to one side of the basement so that the main part of the new walls could be built.
i have done all i can by myself, so the boys are going to have to start helping now with the heavier stuff...

this is basically what my studio DID look like before i tore it apart....even though this was taken a while ago, and surely it was even more cluttered...

can you see that back wall there? it isn't really a wall at all. i just stapled fabric onto the beams. there is insulation under there. it was ugly.

also, all along the wall on the left (that you can't see) is this ugly paneling that i had painted. that is getting torn out and drywall put up everywhere.

i need to put plastic all over all my stuff so it doesn't get the dreaded spackle dust all over everything....

i will take photos along the way. i can't wait till it's finished!!! :D

trains and gypsies

2010-01-15T10:39:00.003-05:00

two new tiny ones!

"reading" is a square one. i love old trains, and we are lucky to have a sort of "train graveyard" nearby where i go often to take photos and stuff. they have a running steam engine that takes people out on a little tour (it's the one pictured here in the painting). i wish they still made them like that.

anyway, the painting is approximately 5" square on a wood panel with as much stuff on it as i could muster ;)

it is for sale in my etsy shop here.

the second one happened because i needed to draw something. it's been ages (seems) and sometimes i just gotta do it.
anyway, her name is "vadoma"
and she's on a wooden panel that is approximately 5" in diameter.
she's made with acrylic and ink and i used brass nails and upholstery tacks for extra fanciness ;)

she is also for sale in my etsy shop here.

in other news...i was NOT one of the 10 winners of the contest that i submitted most of my "survival" paintings to. they picked 8 (!!!) sculptors/installations and only 1 painter! there were over 2,100 people who entered, so i'm not too heartbroken, but i now need to find somewhere to show all of this work (besides my living room!)

also, i am bartering with a friend who is going to remodel my studio!!!! in exchange for some artwork. :D :D :D
construction starts next week, so i will have to move a lot of stuff out of here so he can tear my walls down and put up new ones.
he will make this room bigger and put up shelves, cabinets, and build a BIG work table! yay for bartering!!!!

i do not know how much work i will be able to do while this is all happening, but i will bring my computer and my sewing machine upstairs at least ;)

ciao!

getting back to it...

2010-01-12T09:02:00.002-05:00

the new year started off a little wonky.
i had some sort of weird cold thing going on...
but i've been feeling a bit better, so i made this:

it is for sale here where you can see more pics in the listing.

i also bought a new coat, that i think needed a lil' pin. so i thought...
i'll make one. like a little painting. because people ask me what i do, and i can just say "i make big ones of these" ;)

i made 3. to try it out. i messed one up a little (but i think i may have fixed the big problem) so two are alike (but different)

they are approximately 1.25" square, so the actual painting part is about 1" square.

i think that working tiny is very difficult, but for some reason, i continue to torment myself. go figure.

STUFFED magazine

2009-12-29T08:04:00.003-05:00

was supposed to be out in stores on jan. 1st, but i'm hearing that some people have found it already! (barnes and noble)
it's the winter issue 2010...

there are weirdos in there!

two tiny paintings

2009-12-28T21:29:00.002-05:00

i wonder if it's all the running around, and being busy with holidays that makes me want to just stop and make things...
but i'm glad it's over, as nice as it was. and i made some new things.

"pork"

this little painting is called "pork"
it is approximately 5" square (13cm), and is mixed media and found objects on a wood panel.

you can find it for sale here

"fool"

mixed media and found objects on wood panel
approx 4.5" square (including beads)

you can find this for sale here

i have more of these small ones in the works. i hope i can show them to you soon :)

to the nice man...

2009-12-12T17:48:00.001-05:00

today, who bought my weirdos. i gave you the wrong change. please email me so i can give you the rest.
thanks!
i hope you see this :)

damaged

2009-12-03T22:22:00.002-05:00

this little painting is called "damaged"
it's approximately 5.25" square on a wood panel.
signed (very tiny) on the front. (the watermark is not on the image)

felt is adhered to the back, as well as a sawtooth hanger.
it is ready to hang!!!

it is for sale in my etsy shop SusanMoloney

i found this little doll in an antique shop. i fell in love with her. she looked so sad and helpless there in the case.
when i asked the woman to open the case so i could have a better look, she said,"oh, i'm afraid her eyes are gone."

i said, "i know. i want her, please."

we're all a little damaged, aren't we?

"sound"

2009-11-04T14:27:00.003-05:00

one more painting for the survival series...
i was going to stop at 10 but i think 13 suits the series...
so one more to go...

this is listed in my etsy shop SusanMoloney

you can see more details here: sound

two new ones

2009-10-13T10:20:00.002-04:00

"torn"

mixed media and found objects on wood panel. approximately 16.5" square

"the burbs"

mixed media and found objects on wood panel. approximately 19.75" x 25"

i think i'm submitting this stuff today.
a bit nervous :P

dirty laundry

2009-10-01T19:56:00.003-04:00

i had done this first as a photograph because i was just trying things out to see where they'd go, but the photo was initially done as a "sketch" for this painting.
but now that i've looked at the photo for so long, i don't feel like this is a "new" painting. but it is.
i just finished it.
just now!

so, here it is, anyway.
i hope you like it :)

i used a larger photo so that you could see the details. the figure, the clothes line, and all of the dresses are raised off the panel so they cast shadows.
here is an angle view...maybe it helps to see.

and a detail of the grass...
i have to show you this because i cut out and glued every single teeny tiny triangle on there, and it can't be all for not anybody being able to see it! lol!!!!
i don't think i will be using teeny tiny triangles again any time soon.

so that's that.
i've had a bad cold all week, but i'm really trying to continue working so i can submit these into a contest, type thing...
i have one more to go. they are looking for 10 images...
but i think i will still make more.

thanks for looking!!!!
x

prison

2009-09-22T11:33:00.001-04:00

mixed media and found objects on wood panel. approx. 24" x 32"
pretty big.

fight

2009-09-19T23:02:00.001-04:00

mixed media and found objects on wood panel.
approx 16" square.

i'm also trying to write an artist statement.
i think these are stupid.
if i wanted to write about what i was thinking, i would be a writer and not an artist :P

i'm just a bad blogger...

2009-09-14T22:10:00.003-04:00

so it's been over a month and i really wanted to be better at keeping up with this. meh.

i have some new paintings i wanted to post, and i'm working on a few more that will be finished soon!!!

so here goes....

climb

about 24" square. mixed media and found objects on wood panel.
the little plane in the left upper corner is a little metal toy matchbox plane, and the number 3 is metal. it's a real feather, and a real fear of heights! (i also was considering whether or not a fear of heights could be related to a fear of success...maybe in a jungian world? dunno.)

heavy

mixed media and found objects on wood panel. approx. 12" square.
i was so giddy about finding the strong man card. and he was number 3!!!
and the scale has a small 3 in the middle of the star.
the little weight hanging from the scale is a fishing weight that i stole from my dad's boat ;)
shhh...don't tell.

stay tuned...more soon!

ok, i hate them but....

2009-08-09T18:38:00.002-04:00

more squirrel drama!!!
this one is crazy!!!

we just got back home from being at the boat.
it's a pretty far drive, plus we took back roads. that takes even longer...
dougal, my hero dog, was with us.

when we got home, we were all in the back yard.
i was inspecting these strange purple flowers that i did not plant and was wondering how they got there...
the boy was standing there with me.

the husband had just come outside and the dog was up there by him.

two squirrels were in our big oak tree, chasing each other.
they seemed to be fighting.

dougal was chasing them around the tree, and the husband was trying to throw things near them to snap them out of it, cause you know when squirrels are chasing each other, they are completely unaware of everything and anyone around them.

the squirrels went up further into the tree, and across to the next door neighbor's tree.

the one squirrel knocked the other one from a sturdy branch down below to just some leaves.
the unfortunate one was hanging onto the leaves for dear life.

the tougher squirrel dove down onto the leaf squirrel and knocked him further down, again onto more leaves.

the leaf squirrel lost his grip and fell head first onto our fence.

of course, he couldn't have fallen into the neighbor's yard, but he fell right into ours.

all woozy, he tried to slip under the fence, away from the eager jaws of my murdering dog.

not quick enough though...

dougal got him.

the squirrel struggled and was swatting at dougal's face, but dougal went right in for the belly.

he got him good. and squeezed.

i was freaking out and shouting at the husband to get the dog away from it.
i was afraid it would bite him or something and who knows if he has any diseases or whatever...

finally, the husband got dougal away.

the squirrel was there on the ground gasping for air.
i'm sure he's dead.

i know, i hate them, but...

that was SO disturbing.
(and of course i had to share it with you :P )

and once again, i skeeve my dog.
can you disinfect a dog???

squirrels are bad. very, very bad.

2009-08-07T01:51:00.003-04:00

if you know me at all, you know well...
i am TERRIFIED of squirrels.
to the point of it being ridiculous.

well, there was squirrel drama here today!

the boy threw a jar of peanut butter in the recycling bin with no lid. and of course there was still peanut butter in it...

so i'm sitting out there and i hear all this rustling around, and the squirrel is IN the bin with his head IN the peanut butter jar.

i went over (terrified, of course) and tried to scare him away.

he was not deterred.

dougal (my loyal pooch) was inside demanding to come out so that he could protect me from all squirrel evil.

my hero!

he chased him over the fence, but the squirrel stood at the other side of the fence antagonizing him. even went so far as to climb to the top of the fence above dougal's head.

(that's the divil there. and me shooting from INSIDE thru the window)

while dougal distracted the evil one, i put a lid on the bin with a brick on it.
i brought dougal inside. (he was making a lot of noise)
the squirrel came back a few times, all annoyed about the lid and the brick.
good.
stupid squirrel.

monday...hrmph....

2009-08-03T18:02:00.003-04:00

i woke up this morning all enthusiastic to go antique shopping for number 3's.
for a while there, i was seeing them everywhere.
now...
there is a 3 deficiency.

i made my son go with me, and we drove an hour to this place called adamstown? pa.
i assure you, there isn't a 3 in the town.

all was well though.
there were TONS of antique shops and we probably only went through 4 of them (they were BIG) in a span of 6 hours.

i heard the most stupid person in the world in one of these places.
he told his 2 daughters that "nothing in this world is free, and if it is, it isn't worth having."
i bit my tongue so as not to say anything outloud, but i'm sure something slipped out in a mutter...

niiiice.

so we are all pooped out and head home.
my car started acting funny and the temperature gage was going up and up and up :(
it had that funny anti-freeze smell too!
yikes!

we rang my husband who told us to TURN THE HEAT ON!!! and it might go down.
well, it's 90+ degrees out there today!
but we did, and sure enough the temp went down a little...
and we made it home.

now i am 3less and carless...
and very hot.
:P

"see"

2009-08-02T14:54:00.004-04:00

new painting. just finished the frame this morning.
it's mixed media and found objects on a wooden panel.
about 16.5" square.

i really have room for improvement on my carpenter skills :P
i must have redid that frame 3 times!
it's always the frame that gives me trouble :(

anyway, hope you like!!!

stories of the cellar dweller

exhibits in february

For Penn Treaty - Slingluff Gallery

2 exhibits opening this week!

"momentum"

"life sentence"

"human plague"

upcoming show. first friday. sept. 2nd.

m.i.a.

assemblages closing party

Assemblage Exhibit

new website!

howdy!

First Friday February!

love potion

love and biscuits

two new tiny paintings

phrenology and the way brains work

art opening

the best birthday ever...and stuff...

"mixed signals"

$%#@&%

technical difficulties.

"better half"

*not* anniversary

handmade division talk about blog

"broken"

hello!

"consumer"

handmade division talk about blog

Andes CruzAlice IstanbulRebekah Meddles (Lunasa Designs Jewelry)Jewelry by Natsuko nanotopiaBella-Bijou JewelleryBeth CyrArtJewel DesignsLisa Hopkins DesignThomasin DurginAbhaya Fibers

just peekin my head in.

feeding the pig

"pudge"

save the girls

duh!!!!

and another new tiny painting....

two new paintings

the plush team has a book!

Extra, Extra! Get your Plush Team Annual!

talk about: collaborating

Andes CruzLisa Hopkins Designceeb wassermann aka howlindoggieRickson JewelleryPurified Art

nanopod: Hybrid Studio

cassé

dolly fleur

dolly

what am i, anyway?

opening night!

just a reminder!

my lovelies

workin!

drumroll please.....

shelves n' stuff

newses!

copycats

my heroes

water!

this week...

closer and closer

just a peek

anxious

more stuffs!

changed.

stairs

stencils? stamps? something?

happy half!

i did it.

floor situation

slowly but surely...

cubbies!!!!

presses and pulls (and stain stain and more stain...)

helloooo!!!!

happy valentines day :)

concrete basement floor

everything is white.

...and now a break from our regularly scheduled program

soon comes the fun part...

busy.

newses

13 is a lucky number

not anniversary

Andes Cruz
Alice Istanbul
Rebekah Meddles (Lunasa Designs Jewelry)
Jewelry by Natsuko
nanotopia
Bella-Bijou Jewellery
Beth Cyr
ArtJewel Designs
Lisa Hopkins Design
Thomasin Durgin
Abhaya Fibers

Andes Cruz
Lisa Hopkins Design
ceeb wassermann aka howlindoggie
Rickson Jewellery
Purified Art